Birth of the Kalos Knight
by Pete the Rock
Summary: Ash must save the Pokémon Showcase performers after the Malamar trio abducted them and left Jessie to die.
1. Recording the Abduction

_Disclaimer: No ownership of Pokémon._

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 _ **Birth of the Kalos Knight**_

 _Chapter 1: Recording the Abduction_

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Ash, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie and their Pokémon friends arrived at a Pokémon Center. On a computer, Serena logged on and saw that she had e-mail. Looking at the address of the sender, her eyes widen. "It's from Aria!" she screeched. When she opened it, Aria appeared on a web video.

"To all my Pokémon Showcase Performers, this is Queen Aria," she greeted. "First, I want to thank all of you for the season of great showcases… which is why I'm presenting an opportunity to bring everyone together for a promotional PokéVision video to encourage the fun of Pokémon Showcases to any and all upcoming performers who want to showoff for crowds. The end of this video will have the location of where we'll meet up for this moment. I'll see you there!" The video ended and a map of Kalos emerged with a red dot. Seeing this, Serena brought her digital map to check how close she would be to reuniting with her performing friends. Her eyes shot wide open.

"It's only a few miles from here! I can be there in an hour!" Her excitement brought Ash and the blond siblings to check on the commotion.

"Serena, what's up?" asked Ash.

"Yeah, your voice woke Dedenne from his sleep!" complained Bonnie. Dedenne squeaked, upset to prove her point.

"Sorry about that," Serena apologized. "Aria's asking all the performers for a PokéVision video together here." She showed the device and how close it was to the Pokémon Center from the rendezvous point.

"That's nearby," Clemont observed. "You can be there shortly."

"Right… but not until tomorrow. Luckily, I'll see Shauna, Nini… Miette..." Bonnie sneered to Serena's dismay of mentioning the last performer.

"Hey, everyone's doing nothing but preparing for the Kalos League and besides," Ash pointed out. "It's for a video of you and the rest of the performers. You'll be fine over there."

"Thanks, Ash!" The encouragement helped restore Serena's confidence.

"He is still so dense," Bonnie hushed under her breath. Squishy darted its head up to understand its handler.

"Anyway, after our Pokémon are checked out, let's have dinner," Clemont suggested. The others agreed and just then, Nurse Joy used the speakers to make an announcement after its chime.

"Ash, Serena, Clemont?" she listed. "Your Pokémon are ready for pickup." Ash and Clemont headed to the counter but not Serena.

"Talk about timing," she gulped before donning an apron. "Bonnie, could you get my Pokémon? I'm gonna start cooking."

"Okay!" cheered Bonnie before racing to retrieve Braixen, Pancham and Sylveon. After their pickups, Serena made dinner before feeding her friends and their Pokémon. Typically, Pancham and Chespin had their disagreement. Everyone hit the sack in preparation for tomorrow. After breakfast, Serena began to head out.

"Are you gonna be okay?" asked Clemont.

"Don't get too concern," Serena advised. "I'll be back by dinnertime." With that promise, Serena bolted to the outskirt which the rest of the performers met. Almost an hour, she found the crowd of girls who played a role in the showcases. Something else caught her eyes: everyone here wore their showcase gowns. Shauna wore her pink gown with the white shoulder drapes and pink boots with the white forearm gloves. Miette sported her blue maid-style gown with her hair in ribbons and head dress. Nini stood with her black pseudo-gothic gown and pantyhose. Blanche still adored her white gown over a heat-compressed black t-shirt. Alouette styled herself in the white strap gown with the blue skirt around her sides and back. Amelia marveled herself with her shoulder-less purple gown and stockings. Elma wore her flowery green gown with the red and blue petal-skirt. Sara Lee wore her green midriff and tight black pants with a green half-skirt and white dress shoes. Concetta dazzled with her yellow gown and white gloves. Lily rocked the glasses as well as the yellow and orange ball gown. Shulin wore her blue sleeveless shirt/skirt hybrid with her right leg in a black stocking and the left with green wraps. Finally, Kazalie offered a new look to the set with a green ball gown and a blue skirt.

"Serena, you made it!" cheered Shauna. "Anything with Aria, I knew you wouldn't pass up a chance."

"Shauna! I knew you'd be here yourself!" That's when seeing the outfits caused her to ask out. "By the way, why are you guys wearing the showcase dresses?" Shauna giggled to the question.

"It's Aria's idea. She teased that we should look our best when we do this PokéVision video. Now we're all in our dresses and feeling good about it." Serena giggled to the thought.

"Funny enough, I brought both of my dresses. I just can't decide which one." Nini approached to offer her suggestion.

"Go with the pink one!" she chose while gowned in her Gothitelle-designed dress. Thinking it over, Serena couldn't argue with her competitor's option.

"Okay, the one I wore facing Aria. I'll go with that."

"Well, make sure you hurry," Shauna warned. "The camera crew's suppose to be here in 15 minutes, according to her." Serena scoffed to the information.

"Ten minutes more than I need. Be right back!" She dashed off to change. Once redressed in her pink dress and high heels, she rejoined the performers. Miette saw Serena, interest growing at her appearance.

"Hello there, Serena," she greeted. Serena found Miette, cringing a meeting with her.

"Miette..."

"Oh, don't give me that face. You're the Showcase Princess. You should have more dignity shown." She leaned to Serena's ear to whisper a secret. "Of course, that face also means you're hesitant to ask him, right?" Serena's face perked from her taunt about Ash. She jumped back from Miette to breathe.

"That's none of your concern!" The blue-haired sneered, knowing she didn't pop the question.

"Don't let this twerpette get under too much of your skin," Jessie cautioned as she appeared. Of course, the performers knew her as Jessilinda while not aware of her affiliation with Team Rocket.

"I'm just telling her that she's running out of time to say of her feelings to someone, Jessilinda," Miette downplayed. Aria finally came forward in her lovely white ballgown that she wore in her performance with Serena.

"Serena, Jessilinda, Nini, Shauna, Miette," she listed. "There's five minutes before we start our performance for the PokéVision video. If you want, I have a few makeup artists that can powder you up." Pointing the direction, Serena and Jessie nodded and headed over to the artist for one last touch-up. A van from the Lumiose Press drove to the scene and out came a few people with camera equipment like a tripod, screens, audio board…

"Looks like it will be one heck of a PokéVision video," Blanche noticed. Alexa and Helioptile emerged and called the performers over then to Aria.

"Do we have everyone?" she asked. Serena and Jessie returned to the rest. Alexa seemed satisfied with the attendance. "Okay, we'll need Aria and Serena to lead things off. Then, we'll have everyone say their names, their Pokémon and have them perform a move." Everyone seemed happy with the set up. Aria and Serena brought out their Pokémon, Braixen and her evolved form Delphox. Other Pokémon came out to be with their performers. Braixen and Delphox shook paws, showing respect. "Okay, is everyone ready?"

"Hold on!" shouted Aria. Everyone wondered what the Kalos Queen wanted. That's when she brought out a gold tiara and dressed Serena's head. "Sorry. Now… we're ready!" Alexa laughed to the interruption.

"Okay!" Aria, Serena and the later forms of Fennekin stood side-by-side as the countdown to recording began.

"Lights!" one crew member checked.

"Camera?"

"We're rolling, Alexa!" another crew member confirmed.

"Marker!" one more holding a clip before snapping them together.

"Go!" ordered Alexa.

"Hello, World!" started Aria. "I am Kalos Queen Aria… and this is my Pokémon, Delphox!"

"And I'm Serena, Kalos Princess," Serena said. "...And this is my Pokémon, Braixen!"

"And we welcome to our Pokémon Showcase show-" A scream cut off Aria as all turned to the fear-making shout. Nini became the center of attention when she pointed to three figures flying to the group. A trio of Malamar zeroed in on the performers. Jessie and Serena gulped at the sighting of the Overturning Pokémon.

"Malamar?!" shuttered Jessie.

"What are they doing here?!" shrieked Serena. The Malamar began chortling, leaving the performers and Pokémon befuddled.

"Keep that camera trained on the Malamar," Alexa ordered. One of the Malamar overheard the Pokémon Journalist before firing a Hyper Beam at the camera. The cameraman wasn't willing to take a pot shot and scrambled from his spot. The Hyper Beam totaled the camera, but its operator escaped harm. The power from the Malamar forced the crew to retreat and the performers to recall their Pokémon. Hearing the callbacks of the Pokémon, the Malamar turned their attention back to the performers. Before one performer could move, a pulse of Confusion snared the girls.

"I… I can't move!" freaked Amelia. Alexa noticed the trio intent on the performers and not her. She decided to use this advantage.

"Noivern, come on out!" Her Pokéball opened and released her Dragon-Type. "Now, use Boom Burst!" Noivern's ears began gathering energy for one blow. One Malamar turned and shined hypnotic lights in Noivern's eyes. The charge faded to nothing and the Sound Wave Pokémon descended to the ground in a trance. "Noivern?" Malamar garbled something and Noivern turned to its trainer. It used Gust and blew away the equipment. "Noivern, stop!" Malamar garbled some more and Noivern fired Dragon Pulse.

"Incoming!" a crew member shouted. All dove clear of Dragon Pulse but the attack destroyed the van and the equipment. Helioptile cried for Noivern to stop but nothing entered its enormous ears aside from Malamar's voice. Before Noivern could attack again, one Malamar garbled to another about a performer. They turned to Jessie with something not to their liking.

"What do you squid-faces want?!" she argued. A Malamar garbled before Noivern joined. Serena shook her body as much as possible before a Pokéball broke free. It opened and revealed Sylveon. The Intertwining Pokémon saw her trainer in trouble.

"Sylveon, go get Ash!" she ordered. Sylveon barked but before she could, Alexa's Noivern used Boom Burst, blasting Jessie to the ground.

"Jessilinda!" cried Shauna. Malamar finished the strike with Hyper Beam as Jessie started to stand. Nailed, she flew for a few seconds before landing on the ground in a sickening thud. Malamar chortled before freezing the other performers in place. The Malamar trio carried the performers through the air and leaving Jessie on the ground. James and Meowth found their partner in a heap.

"Jessie!" cried James. "Jessie, get up!" They shook Jessie but nothing.

"Jess, you're stronger dan dat!" yelled Meowth. "Get up!" Sylveon saw Jessie in dire straits. She soon dashed over to Alexa and her crew, barking about their condition.

"You're Serena's Sylveon, right?" she asked. Sylveon barked to confirm her suspicion. "Okay, go find her friends and tell them what's going on. I'm calling for an ambulance. No question there are plenty of injuries." She reached her phone and dialed a number. "I'm gonna need a few ambulances. We've got multiple injuries and a kidnapping by Malamar." A pause. "Yeah, about three miles west of Lumiose City… and we may have one critical." She saw James and Meowth trying to stir Jessie in vain. Sylveon ran as fast as her legs could move. She needed to hurry and run as a convoy of ambulances passed her. The Intertwining Pokémon questioned whether or not to return to Alexa and find her trainer or head back to Ash and the siblings.

" _Go get Ash!"_ echoed Serena's voice. No choice, she raced to find her friends. EMT crew arrived. One found Jessie and knew her condition wasn't good.

"I don't know if she'll pull through," muttered one EMT. Other crew checked others like Alexa while Officer Jenny took notes from the crew members. What could the Malamar want with the Pokémon Performers? Why did they use Alexa's Noivern to take out Jessie?

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. Doctored Excuse

_Chapter 2: Doctored Excuse_

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Sylveon ran for nearly an hour, her energy sapped on every step on her way to the Pokémon Center after her trainer and other performers fell victims to the Malamar Trio and left Jessie in a heap. Finally, Sylveon found the Pokémon Center just as Ash and Pikachu stepped out. "Okay, I'll be back in a bit," he told Clemont and Bonnie. That's when Sylveon barked, heavily gasping after the long run. Hearing the bark, Ash and Pikachu saw the Intertwining Pokémon about to double over and dashed to her side. "Sylveon?!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder to let him hoist Sylveon. "You're okay. Let's bring you inside." Ash reentered the Center, the doors alerting the siblings who saw the exhausted Pokémon.

"It's Sylveon!" noticed Bonnie as Dedenne dug into her bag. Still out of breath, Sylveon barked her heart out to the problem. Pikachu gasped to Serena's Pokémon's story. To the humans, something seemed amiss. They knew a problem arose around their friend.

"I think Serena's in trouble," Clemont studied. "Why else would she send Sylveon to find us?" Hearing more from Sylveon, Pikachu squeaked and extended his paws to say it wasn't just Serena. Ash recognized it.

"If it was just Serena, one of the other performers would come to warn us," he pointed out. "Everyone who attended that PokéVision video is in trouble." Sylveon barked in agreement before adding more to Pikachu. The Electric Mouse Pokémon nodded in believing he knew what to do. He started dashing to the entrance. Before stepping out, he snapped at the humans to move. "Pikachu knows what to do!" Clemont carried Sylveon over to the counter with Nurse Joy.

"Can you watch over Sylveon until we come back?"

"Absolutely!" accepted Joy, same concern on her face. She and Wigglytuff helped Sylveon onto a gurney. Pikachu raced with Ash and Bonnie close behind. Clemont wasn't as close. His bulky backpack didn't help since he got out of the Pokémon Center last. Pikachu looked around a corner as they passed a street and saw Alexa entering a building from a distance. He squeaked and dashed down the street, finding a hospital. Ash seemed befuddled to the location.

"A hospital?" he identified the building. Pikachu confirmed and let Ash enter first where he found the Pokémon Journalist. "Alexa?!" Hearing her name, Alexa turned to the kids with Clemont about to collapse.

"Ash!" she noticed. "Bonnie!" Hearing Clemont's fall, Alexa found the other member. "There's the Lumiose City Gym Leader! How's Sylveon?"

"Nurse Joy's taking care of her right now!" gasped Bonnie, trying to catch her breath.

"Alexa, what's going on?" asked Ash.

"We were all ambushed by a trio of Malamar and they kidnapped the performers, even Aria!" New gasps from Ash and the siblings echoed. "I'm okay and my crew's getting checked out for any injuries." The identities of the kidnappers began to rile Ash.

"They're back?!" Ash and the siblings sensed trouble about the three Malamar and now the three seemed bent on their case. To Alexa, this wasn't the first time the group have seen the Malamar.

"This apparently isn't your first rodeo with them."

"Yeah, we've encountered the Malamar with a machine that would make this world more suitable to their lifestyles," Clemont explained. "The head Malamar was one we met the first time brainwashing an Officer Jenny and having her as Madam X. He and the other two had most of us but James and Meowth aided me in stopping them." Alexa awed the details, starting to wonder what the deal could be with this round.

"You don't think they've reassembled that machine that you bragged you demolished." Clemont pondered the possibility. To Ash, something didn't fit.

"If so, why kidnap the performers?" he questioned. Suddenly, he saw James and Meowth sitting in anticipation to the outcome of Jessie. "Team Rocket?!" Hearing their team name, Meowth stood up and faced Ash.

"Da twerps!" the Alley Cat Pokémon snarled. James didn't want more violence after their partner fell.

"Meowth, heel!" he snapped.

"But, James! They're here and so is Pikachu!"

"No! We need to get back at those Malamar after what they did to Jessie!" Now the rest blinked to the news.

"I forgot that Team Rocket was also there," Alexa added. "When the Malamar appeared, I tried to shoo them with my Noivern." Learning who's Pokémon it belong to, Meowth directed his hiss to Alexa.

"So _you're_ da irresponsible owner!" he snapped as he lunged at Alexa. James did his best to keep Meowth restrained, hugging him down.

"That's enough, Meowth!" he cried. "Her Noivern was brainwashed! She had no control!" Meowth fought to free himself but relented when the grip was too strong. This allowed Ash to ask about Jessie.

"What's going on?" he questioned. "And where's Jessie?" James turned to the red light above the door.

"She's under emergency surgery after the Malamar used Noivern's Boom Burst and their Hyper Beam on her." The kids gawked, surprised to learn that Jessie endured some of those attacks and somehow survive.

"That's scary," Bonnie gulped. That's when the red light turned off. A doctor came out of the room and sighed.

"So, that explains a lot," he murmured. James and Meowth saw the doctor and ran to his side.

"How's Jessie doing," James asked.

"Well… We've done all we could to repair damages to her skin and even wounds to her organs. She's in a coma, still critical." The doctor and his crew did all they could to save Jessie… but he didn't look proud of the attempt. Jessie lied in bed hooked up to tubes on machines, her head wrapped in gauze, her face and arms covered in bruises and gashes. "You're members of that Kanto organization, right?"

"So what?" snarled Meowth. "It doesn't mean anything!"

"That's where you're wrong. If I knew ahead of time that she was a member as well, she would've been better laying in that mess these Malamar and you put her in." James and Meowth gasped. They couldn't believe the doctor's audacity and confession.

"How could you say that?!" argued James. "You're a doctor! You save people's lives!"

"Sure, but organizations who poach Pokémon, even those that have trainers, are members society don't need. I don't care if you have cancer, another doctor will treat you. Just not me." The doctor retreated slowly back to door. "Consider this… her lucky day." Closed, the doctor left everyone stunned.

"So there's bias within medicine as well," Alexa mumbled. "After all the reports about Team Rocket, I can't blame the doc once." Pikachu lowly squeaked in his thoughts of Jessie's condition. Meowth didn't

"Dat's a valuable teammate, youse filthy rodent!" he scowled. Pikachu murmured, indifferent to the issue at hand and Dedenne agreed. Ash knew his friend was in danger by the Malamar Trio.

"What we need to worry about is the other performers," he tried to refocus. "Whatever the Malamar are planning, I can't let them carry it out." Hearing his confidence, Bonnie stood before Ash, willing to aide him.

"I'm coming with you, Ash!" she chirped, ready to help.

"No, you stay with Clemont." The little blond girl gawked to the denial.

"Come on, Ash!"

"If you join me, the Malamar would kidnap you as well. I'd rather have you and Clemont taking care of Sylveon while I get Serena and the others back." Bonnie gasped to the possible outcome. "James, Meowth… You want to get back at the Malamar Trio for what happened to Jessie, right?" Meowth didn't appreciate Ash digging into their business.

"Why should we help you, twerp?!" he mewed, still upset with the doctor's bias.

"Meowth, that's enough!" berated James. Meowth jumped to James' snap. "I get that you're upset with what happened to Jessie and that doctor's opinion on us. After all, our health insurance covers the emergency operation and part of the ambulance ride… but the twerp wants us to get revenge." Meowth cringed at the surrender of his human partner.

"I guess you have a point." Alexa thought about her crew and their close call with the Malamar Trio.

"Don't leave me out of this," she voiced. "The Malamar attacked my crew. I wouldn't mind getting a piece of them." Ash thought about having Alexa help out.

"I don't want you to get involved too much," he studied. "Perhaps you could have Gogoat take us to the sight but that's as far as I would allow." Clemont had an idea. He brought out a black memory card with a red button on this.

"Well, then..." he began. "This looks like a job for the Lumiose Gym Leader. The future is now, thanks to science! I had a feeling the Malamar Trio would strike again at some point with a new machine, so I created a little storage unit called the Auto-Override Storage card. Insert it into any memory card slot and jam this button. It should automatically override and shut any form of electricity down from toasters to super computers. No form of technology can overcome a blow from this!" A useful tool and Ash thought of how to use the new item.

"Thanks, Clemont." The detail from Clemont wowed James and Meowth.

"I guess Science _is_ so amazing," James awed.

"A little memory card with dat much power, I'm willing ta agree," Meowth added.

"Hey, that's my line, James!" protested Ash.

"Consider it something we stole and won't return," James joked. "Anyway, we can work on stopping whatever they have as their next machine while you save the twerpettes." Ash nodded, thankful to put a temporary truce for a shared mission.

"Thanks." Before he stood to exit the hospital, Sylveon entered and found the group.

"Sylveon?" gasped Bonnie. Serena's Pokémon barked with bravado. Understanding Pokémon tongue, Meowth offered to translate.

"Sylveon's asking to join so dat it could be with its twerpette again," he revealed. "And dat she's fit for duty!" Bonnie came over to the Intertwining Pokémon, knowing her emotions to this rescue.

"Sylveon, Ash will bring Serena back!" she explained. "It's his promise!" Ash gave Sylveon's request some thought. Alexa's Noivern was still under their hypnosis. Sylveon, a Fairy-Type Pokémon, had the advantage. Quickly, his plan came full-circle.

"Clemont, I'll need Luxray," he requested. Clemont balked to the order. "James, your Inkay can help find the hideout." James nodded to his part. "Luxray can give Sylveon a ride behind Gogoat, which I'll ride with Alexa. Once Inkay locates, Alexa and Luxray will withdraw and we'll storm in and stop the Malamar." Alex and Team Rocket nodded in agreement. Squishy looked up to Ash, sensing his determination. Everyone exited which Clemont released his Gleaming Eyes Pokémon and Alexa, her Mount Pokémon.

"Promise that you'll get everyone back!" wished Clemont. James and Meowth entered their hot-air balloon and trailed after Gogoat and Luxray.

"This way!" pointed Alexa as she held Gogoat's horns. Ash and Pikachu felt secured around Alexa's arms. Gogoat trampled down the road and Sylveon latched on Luxray with her feelers. The speed of Gogoat and Luxray severed time as the group reached the remains of the van. They arrived. Ash looked up to the balloon, flicking a thumb up.

"Da twerp gave us da okay!" alerted Meowth. As James reached to get a Pokéball, Inkay came out on its own, surprising the boys in the basket. Inkay wasn't the cheerful Pokémon as it growled at a feeling in the air.

"If Inkay can pick up the Malamar already, we must be close!" studied James.

"Let's land and let Inkay show the way." Obliging, James lowered the balloon and landed on the grass. The Revolving Pokémon followed while its sight remained fixated. Alexa grew fearful of Ash, not just teaming up with a crippled Team Rocket but attacking a group of evil Pokémon.

"Will you be okay?" she asked. Ash took a deep breath. He swore to bring the girls back.

"Yeah..." he softly answered. "Just expect me back." Alexa wanted to hold his promise.

"Good luck." Alexa boarded her Gogoat and she an Luxray raced away. With Sylveon by him, Ash faced no return without completion.

"Inkay, lead the way." Inkay chirped before flying forward and the rest followed. The lives of Aria, Serena, Miette, Shauna, Blanche, Alouette, Amelia, Clarice, Nini, Concetta, Elma, Sara Lee, Lily, Kazalie and Shulin were on line. Little did he know, Ash's life was also at risk.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. MalaMarred

_Chapter 3: MalaMarred_

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Inkay led the charge to rescue the performers from three versions of its evolved form, Malamar. Joined by Sylveon, Ash and Team Rocket's boys to a hidden hideout. James and Meowth joined to avenge the comatose Jessie, falling victim to the assault. Before long, Inkay sensed a dread as they found a complex within the woods. "So that's where the Malamar are, chum?" guessed James. Inkay's growl startled Sylveon but she realized Serena and the performers were held captive inside. Ash wanted to make sure the Intertwining Pokémon knew what to face when they opened the door.

"You know what we're up against, Sylveon?" he asked. Sylveon barked, her attempt in hiding her fear of facing the Malamar. Ash nodded, not noticing her shaking legs. He and James slowly opened the steel doors. The darkness inside shivered Pikachu and Sylveon. Inkay's growl told the humans they were close. Through covered windows from doors and windows, flashing lights illuminated. To the group, the targets worked behind those doors.

"Dis is it, twerp," whispered Meowth. "You sure you can save dose twerpettes?"

"Just as long as you're prepared to help out." Ash led the rest to the door before Ash grabbed a Pokéball. "Greninja, I choose you!" The ball opened and the Ninja Frog Pokémon came out. "Use Water Shuriken!" Greninja formed water and converted to a ninja shuriken. With one swing, Greninja broke the doorknob latch. The Malamar Trio heard the busting metal and turned to find the boys and Pokémon breaking in. The trio grumbled to the interruption. One Malamar garbled as all three levitated in front of a massive towering machine in operation. Behind that machine, the performers in each glass container. The girls peered to find the heroes.

"Is that Ash?" asked Shauna. Miette, Serena, Nini and Aria looked to find the boys, mostly to Ash. The girls awed the rescue from the evil Pokémon.

"Ash!" shouted Serena. Sylveon barked back to her trainer while Ash seethed to the Malamar's actions.

"You have gone too far, Malamar!" he shouted. The Overturning Pokémon garbled to which Meowth translated.

"Da Malamar want all humans to vanish and with dat repaired machine and change da world to something more inhabitable for dem, dere conquest will begin!" The translation bared little to the reasons of kidnapping the girls.

"You want to eliminate the human race?" berated James. Inkay snarled to the Malamar's plans. "Then explain why you needed to hurt Jessie and take these girls?!" Another Malamar garbled to which the other Pokémon gasped, even Inkay and Meowth.

"Something tells me it's not good," Ash gulped.

"It's worse dan we tought!" gawked Meowth. "Once da world's free of humans, dose Malamar would start dere process in breeding da twerpettes!" Hearing the translation made the boys gasp. The girls also heard this, screaming in terror.

"No!" cried Miette. "I'm too young to bear a child, less a baby Inkay!" Ash gulped, now realizing the breeding briefing.

' _The Malamar want the girls to have Inkay in… that fashion?'_ he thought. Instead of asking due to Miette, he now growled at the sinister trio of evil Pokémon.

"Talk about a fate worse than death," James murmured.

"I may love Pokémon but not like that!" Inkay shouted a storm back at the evolved forms.

"And what about dat one who you put in a coma?" questioned Meowth. The last Malamar garbled, mocking the fall of Jessie. "Dat's why?! You'll pay for dat insult!" James looked down to get an understanding.

"What did that Malamar say?" he asked.

"It said dat da reason dat last one was dat she wasn't pure and innocent like da ones in da containers!" Ash looked at the two partners of Jessie, actually agreeing with the Malamar in that instance.

"Can't actually argue that point," he nodded, Pikachu adding with a few squeaks. Before the Rocket boys could snap, a familiar roar alerted the boys and forced them to look up. Alexa's Noivern swooped in, still under the Malamar's mind control. The trio chortled, sensing the doom of those who came to ruin their plans for domination. Ash quickly took action. "James, Meowth… try to stop that machine. I'll keep these Pokémon busy." The Rockets wanted to help.

"Just give us dat memory card da inventing twerp made."

"No, I want to use it as a last resort. You guys have the technical stuff as well. It's time to outsmart these guys." Ash glanced to the trio. James and Meowth felt no choice but to put their faith in someone who's beat them time and time and time again tenfold.

"Just don't go down on us!" warned James. He and Meowth raced to the machine as Ash and the Pokémon covered them. A Malamar commanded Noivern to attack. Noivern swooped up and launched Gust. Ash turned to Sylveon, hoping her Fairy-Type could stop the Sound Wave Pokémon. He needed to remember what moves Serena's Pokémon could do.

"Sylveon, Fairy Wind!" Sylveon brought her feelers together before they pushed out a gust of wind, slicing through Noivern's Gust attack and nailing the mind-controlled Pokémon. Ash chose to use another Pokémon to settle Noivern. "Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" Pikachu gathered electricity on his tail into a sphere before flinging it at Noivern recovering from the Fairy Wind. The Electro Ball blasted Noivern out of the air and fell within a few feet from Ash and the other Pokémon. "Sylveon, try holding Noivern down." Sylveon used her feelers to anchor Noivern to the floor. Ash and Greninja pulled Alexa's flier while Pikachu grabbed a Spelon Berry from Ash's person. Noivern fought to free itself which Inkay used Tackle on its back. Noivern roared in pain from the attack, giving Pikachu the moment he needed to shove the Berry in its snout. The girls seemed baffled to the move.

"What did Pikachu feed Noivern?" asked Aria. Serena remembered encounters with Alexa and recalled the food Pikachu had for a few seconds.

"Alexa had Spelon Berries to keep Noivern calm!" she pointed out. Noivern blinked a couple of times before turning to the Malamar, looking stunned. Sylveon released her feelers and Noivern stood to greet the Pokémon who freed him.

"Looks like you're back to normal, Noivern!" smiled Ash. "Get going back to Alexa. We'll handle things from here." Noivern agreed before flying out of the hideout. The Malamar snarled, upset to losing control of a powerful creature. Ash sneered up to the floating Pokémon. "Now it's your turn, Malamar!" Ash turned to the Rocket boys. "What's the progress?"

"Not good!" gulped Meowth.

"The system has so many reroutes to it, I can't seem to cut the process!" complained James. Ash had to do something to buy the boys more time.

"Try reversing the process!" he suggested.

"Did that! No good!" To the boys, options were exhausting quickly.

"Ash!" shouted Serena. Ash turned to the voice. "Your words: Never give up until it's over!" One Malamar garbled to Serena in anger. Ash nodded, his own words echoed to someone reverting them back to him. The other performers shouted for Ash, James and Meowth as well to keep going.

"Inkay, Sylveon, Greninja, Pikachu..." he called. "We won't give up!" The Pokémon let out yelps to continue the mission. "Inkay, use Psybeam!" Despite not being its trainer, Inkay obeyed and fired Psybeam. One Malamar countered with a Night Shade attack, canceling Psybeam.

"Why is Inkay listening to da twerp?" gawked Meowth.

"I told Inkay prior to entering!" answered James. Meowth tilted over in surprise.

"You coulda told Meowth!" One Malamar started to flicker the lights on its chest.

"Sylveon, use Protect!" ordered Ash. Sylveon shouted and summoned a blue bubble which deflected the lights from reaching Ash or the Pokémon. Ash knew Sylveon couldn't stand against the Malamar Trio. "Sylveon, wait for Serena. Greninja and I have work to do." Suddenly, Ash and Greninja started to move in-sync with each other. "Everyone's depending on us! Let's bring out our full power!" Greninja flashed before a torrent of water cocooned it. The girls gasped to the sight of the transformation.

"Did Greninja Mega Evolve?" asked Lily.

"I was gonna say, I don't recall seeing a Key Stone around him at all!" pointed Sara Lee.

"And I didn't know Greninja _can_ Mega Evolve!" recalled Blanche. Ash turned back to James, hoping progress made.

"Any luck?" he asked.

"No!" snapped James. "There's no way to stop it!" The machine revved louder. Ash made a quick call as to a decision.

"Alright. Try unlocking the containers and getting out with them!" To the Alley Cat Pokémon, he's chosen to forgo stopping the machine.

"But what about da machine?!" he mewed in a panic.

"It's like how I send you blasting off time after time!" James nodded, taking Ash's advice. A Malamar hovered to the Rockets but Greninja cut its path. "Water Shuriken!" Greninja fired a volley of ninja stars, striking Malamar several times. Malamar fell, buying time for the Rockets to release the performers. The other Malamar came to aid their partner. "Greninja, use Double Team!" Greninja created more cocooned torrents, surrounding the trio. The injured Malamar backed to Sara Lee's container.

"Here's the release!" noticed James as he found a lever. Pulled, the containers released a plume of air before opening downward, Sara Lee's smashing the Malamar's head. The blow knocked the Overturning Pokémon out cold. The other Malamar could only anticipate what move the torrents would perform. Sylveon barked happily to seeing Serena freed. One Malamar fired a Hyper Beam at the Rockets who dove out of the way.

"Everyone, hurry!" The performers jumped out of the containers and ran, hoping to reach safety. Aria stumbled as she tried to exit. Serena and Shauna saw the queen's fall.

"Miss Aria!" they cried as they rushed to her aid. As they arrived, a Malamar hovered over them. Ash guided a torrent over to the performers and queen.

"Aerial Ace!" The torrent flipped before crashing on the Malamar's head. The attack propelled the Malamar into the container. While it didn't close, the Malamar reeled from the shot as it lied with the back leaning to the back. Ash reached the girls, hoping to clear them from the hideout. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just tripped," Aria excused. The fresh Malamar fired Dark Pulse at a torrent, blasting it out of commission. Ash winced to the attack.

"Ash!" yelled Shauna. Serena knew how Ash received pain, even though he wasn't attacked at all.

"That's the problem!" she tried to explain. "If Greninja's damaged, Ash takes it as well!" The Malamar hovered over the humans and Pokémon. It garbled, upset to the plans ruined by a few.

"Get going!" he ordered. "Take Pikachu along!" The girls and Pikachu seemed shocked. To Ash's snap option.

"Ash, you can't!" pleaded Shauna. Ash glanced to his Pokémon now waiting for its next move. Malamar fired another Dark Pulse.

"Use Cut!" Greninja harnessed water and converted it to a kunai blade before striking the Dark Pulse. The attacks collided but the impact blasted the cocoon of water, now revealing the new look of having red scales around its eyes. Aria and Shauna gawked.

"That's the first time I've seen a Greninja look like that," Aria awed. "Is it Mega Evolution?"

"If so, it'll be the first time I've seen a Mega Evolution without a Key Stone in play," Shauna pointed out. Sylveon barked to her trainer, Serena finally taking a hint.

"Ash, do what you can and evacuate," she wished. Ash bobbed a nod before the girls left with Pikachu. James and Meowth followed afterward. Ash winced some, feeling the strike of the last Dark Pulse. Even when Malamar flash its lights to control Ash, the pain benefited him. Greninja saw the other Malamar, still unconscious from the blow delivered by James. The only mobile Malamar came at the two as Ash looked up. Greninja snatched the other before flinging it upward. Malamar flew too close to avoid its partner and they collided.

"Let's wrap this up!" he grinned. "Aerial Ace!" In a flash, Greninja leaped high before nailing the two Malamar into the other containers. Recovered enough, Ash pushed the lever up, closing them inside. Now Ash had one more business but he chose to recall Greninja. "That was awesome. I'll take care of the rest." Greninja nodded before summoned back in its Pokéball. Ash put the ball back before grabbing Clemont's Memory Card and finding an SD slot. "Got it!" He inserted the Card and pressed the red button. The machine continued to rev but the monitors which James operated with showed "OVERRIDE ERROR!" and displayed computer routes breaking. The alarms blared with volume. Ash trusted the Lumiose Gym Leader/traveling partner. This was no exception. "Just as you said, Clemont! The machine's done!" That's when the hideout rattled. Ash figured the machine's malfunctioning started a chain reaction. "If all else failed… That's what makes these Malamar so smart..." He only had one option now: escape. "Those containers should keep the Malamar safe for authorities… Time I got outta-" Suddenly, his body convulsed. He twitched for sometime before he fell to the ground. He lost consciousness just as the hideout started to crumble. The overheating engine within the machine combusted, flames belching out the metal plating. Slabs of concrete and drywall fell from the ceiling and walls and Ash couldn't have passed out at the worst possible time or place. Everyone escaped and watched as the hideout began to collapse. Serena could only hope Ash evacuated the building.

"Come on, Ash!" Suddenly, small explosions ruptured inside. This warned the performers to back away. They cleared in time as the hideout exploded. Steel, concrete, glass and drywall scattered all over the woods. The Malamar flew from the concussive blast, safe in their containers but still unconscious. Everything soon settled and Serena looked back, hoping to see Ash emerge.

"Everyone okay?" asked Miette. Aria took a head count but Pikachu dashed back to what remained of the hideout: a huge pile of rubble. He squeaked for some sort of response from Ash. Nothing…

"Did Ash not make it?" questioned Shauna. Aria also looked around for their hero. The performers returned to the hideout and saw Pikachu sniffing around for his trainer. Finding a scent, he turned to the girls, squeaking frantically. Serena gasped in horror, realizing that Ash had been buried beneath the rubble. Miette took action, releasing her Slurpuff and Meowstic.

"Use Confusion to lift the debris!" she commanded. Her two Pokémon acted swiftly as Pikachu cleared from crossfire. Meowstic and Slurpuff lifted each piece as fast as possible. That's when they saw a glow. The blue glow seemed out of place but to Pikachu, it could only be Ash.

"What's that?" Seeing a panicked Pikachu, Serena snapped to realization.

"That's gotta be Ash!" she replied. Miette's Pokémon hurried to remove the debris from on top until they found Ash, face down with his clothes shredded and body a mess. At first sight, Serena gasped in horror, her hands over her mouth.

"Oh no!" shrieked Shulin. All the performers and Pokémon looked at what was a lifeless body.

"Pull him in, easy!" Slurpuff and Meowstic gently lifted Ash from the debris, his arms and legs contorted in several places. Blood leaked from several wounds on his limbs and head, including his mouth. After bringing him from the rubble, the girls approached and surrounded Ash as he settled on her lap. Aria felt a pulse while her other arm acted as a pillow.

"He's alive but he needs help!" she shrieked. Ash didn't move at all, not even his chest lifted. Pikachu tried to squeak Ash awake but not even a twitch from his trainer. From the distance, sirens from vehicles meant ambulances, fire trucks and police cars. Help was on its way. Aria did her best to keep Ash comfortable in her lap, her gown staining with his blood. Sara Lee saw the vehicles with the sirens, waiving them over. His body broken, bloodied and bushed. He risked his life, his health and his reputation to save everything… but at what real cost?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Knightly Rewards

_Chapter 4: Knightly Rewards_

* * *

An ambulance rolled onto a hospital. The back door opened and paramedics wheeled Ash from the vehicle to the emergency doors. Head wrapped, neck in a brace, arms and legs bandaged… Ash wasn't looking good. Alexa and her cameraman watched the paramedics carry Ash as they recorded the moment. Once inside, Alexa turned to the holder of the camcorder. "You got the shot?" she asked.

"Printed..." he replied. Alexa trembled to seeing Ash in the mess. She remembered first meeting Ash on the Decalore Islands off Unova on their way to Kanto. This also reminded her of one other trainer whom they journeyed with: future Gym Leader, Iris.

"If you saw what Ash did, Iris… He's not a little kid… you brat!" A tear fell from her eye. Inside, the performers waited in the waiting area of the hospital for word on Ash as they all wore their street clothes. Serena cried on a teary Shauna's shoulder. Nini, whimpering as well, embraced her Smoochum and Ash's Pikachu. She showed incredible concern as did many of the performers. Out of fear and anguish, scared and moved, everyone wanted to know if Ash could survive. Miette appeared so distraught, she couldn't face Serena. It wasn't the time to do so. Aria consoled the youngest performers, though upset to the scenario that played out. Other performers gathered in a circle for a prayer. Entering, Clemont, Bonnie, Tierno and Trevor found the hospital and the performers.

"Serena!" the little blond called as she dashed to the saddened girl. "Shauna!" Too frightened, Serena didn't stop crying to see the group.

"You all came!" reacted Shauna. Looking out, the boys feared someone in the group had died.

"Is everyone okay, Shauna?" asked Tierno.

"We're fine… except for Ash." Hearing the name, the siblings grew fearful about his condition.

"What happened?" demanded Clemont.

"He and those two from Team Rocket managed to free us and Ash got his Greninja to Mega Evolve and allowed us to leave. He stayed behind to stop the Malamar… but..." She cringed to finish her detail. It was enough for Clemont to enter a theory.

"When Ash and Greninja's hearts unite, they share a bond so close that when one takes damage, so does the other," he recalled. "The damage they took hurt Ash enough to pass out." Listening, Shauna figured that Ash lost consciousness at the worst time. Dedenne gasped to the theory.

"That's scary to learn," Trevor gulped. Now worried about Ash, Bonnie wondered about his fate.

"Will Ash be okay?" she asked. Shauna's face dread and looked away.

"We don't know," she shuttered. In the operating room. the doctor who worked on Jessie got word about the details of Ash's injuries. He glanced to the doctors with tools at the table.

"At least you got hurt for the right reason," he murmured. He joined the teamwork in saving Ash's life. Hours passed. Back in Vaniville Town, Grace petted her Rhyhorn after coming home. She entered the kitchen where her Fletchling nibbled on bird seed. She brewed a cup of tea before entering the living room and turning on the TV and Lumiose Press Channel came on her screen.

"We're following the developing story of the snatched Showcase performers," Alexa reported. "I'm here at the Gloire City hospital where the performers had been kidnapped by a trio of rouge Malamar." She froze, knowing her daughter was one of the performers. Nothing moved before her cup slipped from her hand and broke after contacting the floor. "So far, only one has been reported injured… and sadly, it's someone I know dearly." That's when Grace's video phone rang. While the TV stayed on, she prayed that her daughter wasn't the injured person.

"This is Grace," she answered.

"Mom, it's me!" replied Serena. Grace let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Serena, are you alright?"

"Yeah..." Grace turned to the TV, finding the paramedics rolling Ash to the hospital.

"Is that Ash on a gurney?"

"He's in an emergency operation after freeing us from the Malamar. He got hurt pretty badly." Grace heard trembles from her daughter. "Sorry, it's just been..."

"I know. Plenty of trauma to go around. I'll come by tomorrow to see you." To Serena, Grace acted like the caring mother she knew about.

"Okay..." That's when Aria came onto the screen.

"Serena, the doctors said the operation was a success but..." she halted.

"But?"

"The damage to his brain and organs have weakened his body and that he's been placed in a coma." Mother and daughter gasped to the news.

"Do they know how long he'll be in that state?" asked Grace.

"They can't say for certain… Some say a few days, one said about a month… but one said that he may not wake at all." Serena lost her breath in horror, thinking Ash is in a slow death by sleep. Aria realized the words she used, while informed, may have had her surrender hope for Ash. "Sorry. I'm just relaying the message."

"I know," understood Serena. The night fell and visiting hours ended. Everyone agreed to see Ash tomorrow since his operation's successful turnout. Everyone headed out of the hospital but Serena had a request for the doctors. "Is it possible for Pikachu to be with Ash?" The doctor thought about allowing Ash's favorite Pokémon to be bedside.

"Well… I don't know," he struggled. "I'm afraid that Pikachu might release some electricity and kill him. He'll probably have a bad reaction if he tries to shock him awake…" Pikachu squeaked that he wouldn't try anything to wake Ash up, just snuggle with him to feel better about his status. "I understand how you feel. As long as you don't emit any electricity, I guess you can stay with." Pikachu squeaked to the good word and leaped onto the doctor's shoulder.

"Don't do anything crazy, okay?" Pikachu nodded before the doctor took him into ICU. Meanwhile in Brackish Town, Kalos Champion and famed actress Diantha saw Alexa's report.

"People may know of Ash Ketchum, the boy who climbed Lumiose City's Prism Tower to stop a raging Garchomp that broke from Professor Sycamore's Lab," she reported. "Now his life is hanging in the balance after the Malamar's malicious act." Diantha muted her screen and turned to Kathi Lee, studying their schedule.

"Okay, you've got an 11:30 meeting with executives about your new cafe-inspired fragrances," she listed. "Should be a hit… Then-"

"Cancel my appointments!" snapped the champion. Kathi Lee gawked to the abrupt alteration. "That boy, that passion for Pokémon… I want to see him and offer something sweet from here."

"Whoa, Diantha! You know how much money you're gamble-"

"It can be rescheduled. That trainer… Ash… He understands Pokémon on the same level as I do. He needs my support." Kathi Lee wondered on the extent of the prolonged appointments.

"Alright… I'll let the CEO's know." The next morning, Grace stepped out to find a car rolling toward the gate in front of her house. Inside, Professor Sycamore saw Grace leaving.

"Professor?" she gawked. Sycamore eyed Serena's mother, an idea on her destination.

"Heading to the hospital, Grace?" he asked. "If you needed to know, I saw the report by Alexa." Grace nodded, a shared location to meet.

"So you know my girl's there. I do want to check in personally." She opened the door and entered his car. Sycamore sped to Gloire City. The performers and friends waited inside the lounge, all with gifts for Ash. Allowed inside, Aria, Serena and Bonnie entered to see Ash, his head wrapped in gauze, arms and legs bandaged like a mummy and a tube protruded out from his arm to an IV bag. Air tubes plugged his nose to insert fresh oxygen in his system.

"I find it hard to believe he's still around after all that," Serena hushed. "Yet… here he is." Aria petted Ash's hair, adoring the boy while feeling guilty for allowing him to suffer the injuries that left him in this state.

"You know, a knight doesn't need his armor to protect those he cares about," she stated. Bonnie and Serena, as well as the Pokémon, blinked at Aria's quip.

"What's that mean?" asked the small blond.

"Ash came to rescue us and despite having adversaries, braved three Malamar who wanted to… rough us up." Serena knew Aria didn't want to scare Bonnie or the two Pokémon in her care. "That's why I consider Ash as a knight." That's when she knelt down and kissed him on the lips. Serena and Pikachu gawked to Aria's gift to Ash. Bonnie awed the kiss given.

"M-Miss Aria!" gasped Serena. Aria smiled before turning to Serena.

"I bet you wanted to do that to him for sometime." Serena's face burned beet red in embarrassment. "If you want, now's your chance." Serena gulped to the offer as Aria took a few steps back. Serena hesitated before seeing Ash, not a twitch from the kiss.

"Ash..." Swallowing her pride, she knelt and kisses Ash on the lips as well. Bonnie and the Pokémon awed to Serena's bravery in giving Ash lip, literally. "Please, come back to us." Witnessing the older two, Bonnie wondered if she could join their actions.

"Can I kiss him, too?" she requested. "It might make him feel better!" Aria and Serena huffed giggles.

"Okay, but be gentle," Aria allowed. Bonnie nodded before leaning in herself. However, she kissed him on the cheek.

"Get better soon..." With the kiss granted, the group left Ash and Pikachu as Dedenne and Squishy reentered Bonnie's bag. Two minutes later, Shauna, Tierno and Trevor came in. Viewing Ash on the bed in the shape after the operations, Tierno released Raichu to console Pikachu while reading the medical report on a clipboard on the front of the bed.

"Whoa..." muttered Tierno. "Broken arms, busted legs, fractured skull, brain hemorrhaging, lacerated kidneys… That's one way to stay off the dance floor."

"That's for sure," Trevor agreed. "I wouldn't have done what Ash did, less come out in better shape." Shauna came to Ash's bed, caressing his cheek, opposite of the one Bonnie kissed.

"Could I ask you two something?" she opened. The boys wondered the ordeal. "If I was in a similar situation, would you two rescue me?" It took the two a second to answer.

"Anything for you, Shauna," Tierno replied.

"Okay! But first..." She leaned down and kissed Ash on the lips. The boys gawked, nearly losing their footing in the process.

"Shauna!" gasped Trevor. Not hearing her friends, Shauna smiled to Ash, knowing he's in safe hands.

"We miss you." Pikachu and his evolved counterpart smiled and squeaked to the kiss.

"Well, the gift's been dropped off. Let's head on back. I know the rest want a turn with him." Shauna nodded, her time complete. Raichu wished for Pikachu before returning to his trainer. After they left, Miette was next. Seeing him in bed saddened her.

"I almost wanna ask you if it was worth it," she nagged. "You wouldn't be in this condition if you didn't try and find us." She relented and looked at the face of the boy who risked his life to not just save Miette but the performers altogether. "Why didn't I meet you first when you came from Kanto?" As Miette placed her gift in the forming pile, she recalled her first meeting. "You tried PokéPuffs, even though they're meant for Pokémon. I brought some that I know you'll like when you wake up." She walked to Ash's side. "I do hope at some point that you wake to see me." She leaned and kissed, mouth-to-mouth. She soon departed to allow Nini a turn. She and her Smoochum came inside with their wrapped present. Smoochum stood with Pikachu as Nini reached for his head.

"Ash, you've been a really great friend with Serena, Bonnie and Clemont," she complimented. "You even enjoyed my performance when we first met. You gave me a lot of praise." She rubbed Ash's cheek, his face of the one who rescued her and the other performers. "I wish you weren't in this coma. I would've told you that you're a hero for rescuing all of us." Smoochum's trainer stroked his hair before kissing him like the other performers beforehand. Smoochum added a kiss of her own to the same cheek Bonnie tagged him on. Leaving, Amelia came in with violets. Seeing Ash, she felt pity.

"I only know you through the performer who beat me," she scorned. "If anything, I would've wanted someone like Diantha to save me." She stopped herself, as well as her stilettos. "Still, anyone brave enough to battle three Malamar with a Greninja that can Mega Evolve… Only superheroes can claim that. I don't know how you managed to do so without a Key Stone or a Mega Stone. I suppose Greninjite isn't around. If you weren't traveling with the next heir to Aria, I would want you as a special butler. Perhaps a different wardrobe would benefit your looks after recovery." Regardless, she pecked Ash on the lips, joining the first performers. She left and arriving at the waiting room, Sara Lee and Blanche entered as the next up just as Professor Sycamore and Grace arrived.

"Serena!" she called out. Serena dashed to Grace, glad to have comfort from the ordeal.

"Mom!" she cheered as they hugged. Clemont and Bonnie also saw the professor, wondering about his arrival.

"Professor Sycamore?" he gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Come on, Clemont," Sycamore scoffed. "I'm here to check on Ash's Pokémon."

"Oh! Convenient! I just happen to have most of his Pokémon with me." Clemont released Ash's Hawlucha, Noivern, Talonflame and Grenina. Sycamore studied the Pokémon closely.

"This is the Greninja that can Mega Evolve, right?" Greninja groaned, feeling that he let Ash get hurt. "Hey, things like this happen. Your Pokémon teammates still praise you for your efforts." The Ninja Frog Pokémon nodded, the compliment helping ease his burden. Hawlucha beaked to give Greninja positive words. "All that's left to see is Pikachu." Bonnie knew of Pikachu's whereabouts.

"Pikachu's trying to keep Ash comfortable as he's in his coma," she explained. Sycamore couldn't blame Pikachu for staying with his trainer.

"I see." He turned to the girls ready to see their savior. "Hey, whoever is next, can you bring his Pikachu on your way back." The performers agreed. That's when Aria had an idea and came to Serena and Grace.

"You know, we should make a new PokéVision video," she suggested. After the one they planned brought forth unneeded attention, Serena wasn't sure about doing a new video.

"You sure about that?" she doubted. "After the Malamar ruined your outing..."

"Relax… This will be a tribute PokéVision video. We don't need to dress up like we're suppose to and..." Aria whispered to the mother and daughter about the idea, irking attention to Shauna and Miette.

"What's going on with Aria?" the tanned brunette asked.

"Let's go see," the blue-haired pondered. As the group gathered around Aria, questions entered to her scheme. What could they have in store?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	5. Trained for the Return

_Chapter 5: Trained for the Return_

* * *

Over a week passed since Ash lost consciousness during his fight with the Malamar Trio and their hideout destroyed with him inside. Doctors feared that the injuries he suffered could lead to an eternal comatose. Pikachu steadfastly stayed with him through his coma. It would end as Ash moaned. The first movement from him since the roof collapsed and buried the Pokémon Trainer. Pikachu's ears perked and woke him as the sun began to rise. Crawling up to his chest, Pikachu believed Ash began to stir after his long sleep. That's when his eyes began to open. His fingers flexed in and out. Pikachu saw his face trying to move after his comatose. Finding his Pokémon through blurred eyes, he had a guess of who faced him. "Pi… Kachu?" he groaned. Pikachu squeaked excitedly, hearing his name. "What… happened?" He heard beeps around as his eyes slowly regained focus. Pikachu squeaked more to his relief. Ash creaked his head to a monitor overhead making the noise. "I'm… in a hospital?" Pikachu nodded to the question. "How long have… I thought I was up after bonding with Greninja." The doctor who overlooked Ash's emergency came in to find Ash out of his coma.

"Welcome back, Ash!" he greeted. "Some of us thought you'd be a vegetable for the rest of your life." Ash tried to sit up but his joints and bones wouldn't respond. "Hey, hey! Don't move so much! You've been in a coma for at least a week." To Ash, his own body wasn't his primary concern.

"What about the performers? Are they okay?"

"You're the only one hurt. The girls who you risked your health for escaped injury, let alone with their lives." Ash sighed, relieved to know the performers weren't in the same shape as he.

"That's good. I remember using Clemont's invention to stop the Malamar's machine before I blacked out." The doctor took notice to his claim.

"So you didn't feel anything landing on you?"

"No…" The doctor studied Ash's briefing, thinking his loss of consciousness aided his survival.

"I see. Though, you did make a lot of girls cry over your supposed fate." Ash began to feel somber about scaring those he successfully rescued.

"Sorry..." He slowly, painfully lifted his arm to feel his lips. "Why do my lips feel..?"

"Funny thing..." The doctor darted his eyes to the pile of presents for Ash. "Not only did those performers give you some 'Get Well' gifts, I've seen them kiss you. Must have been their chance to be the one who wakes the 'Sleeping Prince'." Ash took a second to think of the doctor's meaning. He blushed, realizing the girls kissed him while he tried to recover. A nurse entered to see the doctor.

"Serena's mother and Diantha want to come see him," she advised. The doctor craned his head to Ash as Pikachu played with the remote, finding the bed's adjustment button.

"Easy," he warned. "Easy." It stopped where Ash felt little discomfort. "That wasn't so bad..." The nurse walked over to see Ash with the question.

"I know you're finally out of your coma… about nine, ten days. Anyway, Grace and Diantha wanted to come and visit you." To Ash, seeing Diantha was a treat.

"If it's Diantha, of course." The nurse acknowledged Ash's consent.

"Okay… I'll be back with them." She left and the doctor brought out his stethoscope to monitor Ash's vitals.

"Well, you're young and you're recovering nicely..." he noted. "However, it might be best to have you go through therapy to regain your motor skills. You don't start walking after taking a week-long-plus nap that quickly." As he removed his stethoscope, Grace and Diantha entered.

"Welcome back to the living, Ash!" joked the Kalos Champion. Grace entered with a laptop in arm.

"Thank goodness you're out of that coma," she praised. Ash awed the sight of the two women.

"Diantha?" he gulped. "And Grace?"

"Surprised?" chuckled Diantha. "Heard the news from Brackish Town. Anything involving Pokémon and you're there to set things straight. I bet if my Gardevoir found you, that instinct of putting others before you kicks in, doesn't it?" She released Gardevoir who petted Pikachu as he stood by the other side of the bed.

"Can you blame me?" The Embrace Pokémon walked over to Ash's side before giving him a kiss to the cheek. A slight blush appeared but Ash shrugged it off with a smile. "Thanks, Gardevoir." Grace handled the laptop before opening it and placing on a tray before wheeling it to Ash.

"While you fought to stay alive, Serena and the other performers made a PokéVision video," she explained. To Ash, they resumed Aria's project and finished it for Ash to see. Grace had more. "It's Aria's decision and they made it just for you."

"Okay..." Using the Touch Pad, Grace guided the cursor to the "PLAY" icon. The video started with Serena and her Sylveon. Aside from a hat, Serena wore Ash's clothes.

"Hey, Ash!" she greeted. "If you're seeing this, that means you're out of that coma. Thank goodness. The Pokémon Showcase Performers saw your incredible rescue and wanted to give you a huge thanks for the efforts you've done during your time here in Kalos. Ash, you and I traveled for a long time together since the Santalune Gym and Viola. It's just that now after that daring rescue, saying thank you isn't enough. Everyone wants to say their praise." The next video appeared with Miette in Ash's clothes, minus the cap, and Slurpuff.

"Ash, it's me, Miette," she presented. "I would ask how you're doing but I bet after being in a coma for a while, you don't know what's been happening since you've saved us from those creepy Malamar. Anyway, I wanted to consider you someone who I can trust on moments when I feel a need for help. I still want to have some sort of relationship with you, even though you're with Serena. After all, you're the first human to try my PokéPuffs." To finish, she blew a kiss to the camera, making Ash blush. Now came Shauna and her Ivysaur. Shauna wore Ash's clothes as well.

"Remember me, Ash?" she asked. "It's Shauna! I guess I could speak on behalf of Tierno and Trevor to say thank you for protecting me and the other performers. I guess whether it's the Summer Camp with Professor Sycamore or seeing Queen Aria perform like when Bonnie and Pikachu got lost… Your endless confidence has shown no bounds and I hope to carry it wherever I go." Next to voice was Nini, another wearing Ash's clothes with her Smoochum.

"Ash, it's Nini," she welcomed. "How do I look? Pretty sharp, right? Anyway, seeing you in that state kinda scared me in knowing how fragile we can be. Like the other performers, we left you gifts." Unwilling to stay with Nini, Smoochum leaped for the camera's lens and gave it a kiss. "You wanted to give Ash a kiss, Smoochum?" The Kiss Pokémon cooed, allowing Nini to smile. Ash and the elder women laughed as well while Gardevoir let Pikachu out of the room. "Okay!" Finally, she blew a kiss to the camera for Ash. Amelia followed with the PokéVision's trend with her Shiny Dratini. The camera's lens received a cleaning.

"While I question your choice of wardrobe that I'm modeling," she debated. "What cannot be questioned is your bravery. I did not know you, let alone want to know you, but anyone who can save me, Aria and the performers, and stop rouge Pokémon is one of pure justice. If you were in the military, you'd receive a Purple Heart for the courage you displayed. Anyone with that bravado would be welcomed to my circle of friends." Blanche and her Meowstic came on to video, ready to make her say, modeling the same outfit to Ash.

"Hi, Ash!" she greeted. "It's Blanche. Anyway, I saw how you were able to stop the three Malamars and freed us. While I don't know you, I would like to say thank you. Lots of love!" Modeling Ash's clothes next was Alouette with her Furfrou.

" _Bonjour et merci boucoup,_ Ash," she greeted with some French. "It's without saying that your heroism in the crisis helped understand from Serena what kind of a Pokémon Trainer you are: reckless but heartfelt." Elma was the next to model Ash's clothes with her Roserade.

"Hey Ash, it's Elma," she spoke. "It never feels enough to see you in bed at how hurt you were since the hideout collapsed. I bet you're feeling that pain but we all wish for your recovery." Sara Lee appeared with her Glaceon, also dressed like Ash.

"Ash, hey!" she cheered. "Glaceon and I wanted to give you something to ice any pain you're in. But doctors didn't want me to… I hope you like my gift!" Looking uncomfortable in the victim's clothes next was Lily and her Solrock.

"I must admit, Ash," she began. "You did find yourself on our watch list of young men we'd like to have around. If anything, I wish for a speedy recovery." Flashing Ash's clothes next was Concetta and her Scraggy.

"Ash, I hope you get better," she prayed. "Otherwise, we might as well fulfill your dreams and take your glory." Ash and Diantha chuckled to the tease. Kazalie now showed up in his clothes too, her Lilligant.

"To stop three Malamar with Serena's Sylveon, your Greninja and someone's Inkay," she started. "I wouldn't mind you taking care of my Lilligant. You're certainly something completely different." Next to talk in Ash's outfit was Clarice, her Fletchling on her head.

"This is Clarice," she named herself. "So, you're the owner of that strong Pikachu, huh? I guess when you've got that and a Mega Greninja on hand, you're bound for anything. I want to cheer for you in the Pokémon League!" Now appearing was Shulin in Ash's outfit with a paperweight model of Pikachu on her shoulder and Accelgor by her side.

"I hope for your recovery, Ash," she wished. "See? Got my own Pikachu on my shoulder. Wish I was as lucky and have my own. Maybe when we see each other again, you could tell me where you got yours." Aria was the last to appear, donning Ash's wear and having her Delphox by her side.

"Ash, you're no ordinary Pokémon Trainer for sure," she explained. "You're a hero, not just to the performers but to the world on which we walk on. Never has a valiant trainer done this much to protect the innocent of everything around. So on behalf of the performers who didn't reach the Master Class competition and the performers here..." The other performs lined up behind Aria. "We wish to see you again." That's when everyone blew kisses to the camera. The video ended. Ash smiled to the video of his tribute.

"That was nice of them," he said.

"Well, they wouldn't have done it if you didn't bail them out," Grace pointed out before giving Ash a kiss to his face near his eye, leaving a lipstick mark. Gardevoir snickered to the scene.

"Are they waiting in the lobby?" Diantha noticed Pikachu absent, believing he had gone to tell anyone in the waiting area about his awakening.

"I bet they are with Pikachu telling them," she notified. "We can save the chocolate cake I got for you back in Brackish Town for after you meet with the performers you rescued."

"Thanks, Diantha." The doctors unhooked the tubes on his body, including one under his hospital gown. Once bandaged up, Ash tried to step up from bed. However, his unused legs couldn't support his weight and he fell, only to have Grace and the doctor catch him from falling on his face.

"Figured that would happen," the doctor sighed. "This is why I had a wheelchair handy." Ash groaned at his inability to even stand.

"Please tell me I can walk again..."

"With therapy, I'm sure you can." After seating him on the wheelchair, Pikachu came back to announce the gathering.

"I guess everyone's here," Grace assumed before wheeling Ash out of the room. When they entered the waiting room, Ash faced the performers without copies of his wardrobe but their own. Seeing Ash awake, cheers echoed around the waiting hall as they stormed to greet their hero. Among the crowd, Bonnie, Dedenne and Squishy stood at the front.

"Ash, you're finally awake!" she shouted.

"Everyone all right?" he asked.

"Silly!" laughed Shauna. "We should be asking you that!" Nini's Smoochum squirted through the crowd as Bonnie hugged her friend. The Kiss Pokémon fulfilled her role and kissed Ash on the cheek, much to Ash's amusement. Bonnie laughed before kissing him on the other cheek.

"So, did you enjoy the gifts we gave you?" asked Sara Lee. Ash scoffed, bemused to the question since he hadn't had a chance to check the presents.

"Knowing that everyone's okay..." he sneered. "That's the best present I could ask for." The performers and Bonnie laughed, some shedding a few tears to Ash's unbroken sense of honesty. Shauna hugged his head before sneaking around to kiss, her tongue licking his. Miette followed with her own tongue-tying as they engaged in a kiss. Physical therapy started the next day and Ash began with walking bars. As he made his way from the doctor to Diantha at the other end, his arms did their best to hold Ash up. 'Think of it like your first steps to being a Pokémon Master.' With each step, Diantha watched him closing toward her.

"Almost there..." she urged. While in pain from weakened legs, he persevered to the other side.

"I did it!" He tried to pump his fist but that decision threw his balance and he fell onto Diantha. She caught him but the momentum caused the two to fall over on a landing mat. Just like that, the champion and trainer met by the lips. After all the kisses to him, Ash delivered a kiss back. "Sorry! I didn't mean to-" Diantha chuckled, amused.

"What? Never kissed someone? There's always a first." Ash laughed along, noting the deal as nothing. Over the week, he soon graduated to a walker and soon produced enough strength to walk with a cane for support. His legs have improved remarkably, but still needed to walk with a limp. Regardless, two weeks since the Malamar invasion, everyone gathered at the Gloire City Hall, the same location as the Pokémon Showcase Master Class. In the front stood Diantha and Aria, both wearing pearl white ball gowns and one other, someone Serena knew well: Palermo. In attendance, the citizens of the city, Gym Leaders Viola to stand with Alexa, Valerie, Grant and Korrina. Clemont and Bonnie sat on the front as Ash came down to meet with the queen. He dressed back in his attire with Pikachu on his shoulder and Greninja by his side. He journeyed down the aisle until he met with Aria.

"The term 'Bravery' has meanings of courageous and foolish, those that are lauded and those lambasted," she began. "With bravery, heroism. Tonight, we have a prime example of a true hero. We may know him as a trainer from Pallet Town in Kanto. However, his actions against evil and tyranny has revealed a knight within him and among us in Kalos. Ash Ketchum is not just a Pokémon Trainer. He is a protector, a savior, an advocate of justice to the letter. He's a Kalos Knight, reborn after centuries of slumber to save the lands you guarded. Kneel before me." Obeying, Ash knelt to Aria. Diantha brought a scabbard with a sword to Aria.

"Here you go." Pulling out of the scabbard was a sword of pure gold. Aria walked to Ash before eying Pikachu. She first turned to Greninja which he knelt towards the queen.

"Okay, you go first, Greninja." Pikachu watched as Aria patted Greninja with the flat end of the sword to the Frog Ninja Pokémon's right shoulder before passing the blade over his head to tap the left shoulder. With a footstep, Greninja opened his eyes before standing and looking to Ash. Pikachu figured that Aria needed the shoulders and he jumped off before rejoining the gang. Aria performed the same task as she tapped Ash's right shoulder before the left. "Sir Ash, you may stand." Complying, Ash stood back on his feet.

"You have one other reward," Palermo announced as she grabbed a medal. "This is the Cross Swords and Shield medal. This is given to people after performing grand acts of heroism. Not many trainers can do what you did. Face the citizens, not as a Pokémon Trainer, Sir Ash, but as a guardian of Kalos and the world." Aria dressed Ash with the medal. Alexa nudged Viola in the arm.

"Here comes your shot!" she teased.

"Right," Viola irked. "I'll get it." She set herself on the aisle path and lined her camera for a picture opportunity. Ash turned to the citizens who stood and applauded. Serena's eyes watered, viewing the young trainer who she befriended him years ago in Pallet Town. Viola snapped several pictures of Ash, Aria, Diantha and Palermo.

"Ash, I'm so proud of you," she cried happily. Aria lowered herself to Ash's ear, wanting to whisper something.

"By the way, I wanted to give you a treat as well," she offered.

"What do you have in mind?" asked Ash.

"You… Me… Dinner, movie and shopping!" Ash's eyes widened, asked out to what seems like a date with the queen. Ash gulped to the idea, unsure to accepting this invite. Finally, he decided to agree, believing this was Aria's gift to him for the rescue. What could she have in mind? A film featuring the champion?

* * *

TO BE CONCLUDED...


	6. Queen-Size Night

_Chapter 6/Final: Queen-Size Night_

* * *

Twilight, two days later. Clemont watched Serena and Bonnie prepping Ash for his date with Queen Aria as he now donned a brace on his left leg. Bonnie combed his hair back, hair gel on standby. "I'm rather jealous that Aria asked you out," Serena confessed while smiling and bringing a blue open wool suit to the newly knighted. Pikachu, Dedenne, Sylveon and Squishy watched on.

"Funny way of showing your jealousy," he sneered.

"Well… I've looked up to Aria since the PokéVision video sometime before I cut my hair, which is why I'm not losing my mind in anger than… say either Miette or Amelia asking you." Bonnie snickered, witnessing the rivalry between Serena and Miette.

"Maybe Ash isn't as dense as I believed," she thought. "Or I'm not understanding him at all." Ash blinked, not sure about Bonnie's point.

"Bonnie, I'm not you or Brock, okay?" he murmured. "I'm not trying to hit on someone because they're pretty or they have awesome Pokémon… and all I did was try to stop the Malamar trio from their conquest and keep the performers safe. Is it too much to ask?" Bonnie irked at hearing Ash not looking for someone to be his girlfriend.

"But you and Clemont aren't getting any younger! There comes a point in a young man's life where they need someone to be part of his life."

"Well, if I recall, you did that proposal on Lilia and then tried to take it back."

"Yeah, Bonnie! We all saw it, even seeing her Buneary close to Bunnelby when you tried to break it up!" Bonnie struggled to have a comeback for the moment earlier in the adventure.

"Look who's the dense one, now?" laughed Clemont. Bonnie didn't like the teasing, yanking Ash's hair in frustration. Ash flailed his arms in pain.

"Not funny, big brother!" she snapped. Pikachu and Dedenne squeaked to alert about Ash hurting. Bonnie gasped, releasing her grip. "Sorry!" Ash rubbed his scalp to relieve the pain.

"Normally, I don't allow anyone to touch my hair," he mulled. "Now I have another reason." Bonnie returned to fixing Ash, now more gently with his hair. She applied the gel to anchor the hair in place.

"By the way, what was it like to be sleeping for that long, being in that coma?" asked Serena. Ash blinked at the question.

"I don't know. I felt confused when I found myself at the hospital, let alone about a week later." Everyone gawked, baffled to Ash's view.

"You're kidding!" Ash shook his head, admitting to his experience. Clemont studied the case, having an idea to the issue.

"It's not uncommon for this to happen," he opened. "There are people who will sleep for hours upon days while it feels a lot shorter like only minutes." Ash and the girls seemed clued in about his ordeal.

"That's scary," Bonnie gulped. Pikachu and Dedenne shuttered in thought of the discovery. The girls resumed...

"And finished!" announced Serena. She helped Ash on his feet to see his look. Other than the brace, Ash checked himself.

"Not too shabby..." he judged before turning to the Pokémon for their opinion. "What do you think?" Pikachu flicked a thumbs up while Sylveon and Dedenne cheered. Squishy didn't offer a ruling.

"Three out of four Pokémon ain't bad," Bonnie said. Ash glanced to the clock and checked the time.

"I should get going. Luckily, I'll be at the rendezvous in fifteen minutes." Ash began to walk out the door, slightly limping from his injuries.

"I'd say break a leg, but… too literal and you're still dealing with pain from the hideout's destruction," Clemont wished.

"So, good luck out there?"

"Yeah, that's more appropriate." Ash headed out the door, no hat, no Pokéballs and no Pokémon. As he walked to meet with Aria, a disguised Team Rocket ate at a restaurant including Jessie, recovered from her time in a coma.

"I still find it hard to believe that you sided with the twerp instead of taking his Pikachu," she mulled.

"Jessie, understand that we did this to get back for what they did to you!" claimed James.

"Yeah, Jessie!" backed Meowth. "We couldn't help but feel bad for youse and asked for da twerp to help out! Besides, da twerp would've rescued you if youse was with da other girls."

"Come on, Meowth," Jessie shrugged. "What's the worst those oversized Inkay would've done?"

"Easy for us to say, but you won't like it..."

"You'd have a baby Inkay or something freaky in your womb," James graphically explained. Jessie froze in thought to the boys' meaning.

"Those Malamar..." she stuttered, shaking from the thought. "Would've impregnated me?" Finally, she let out a scream and alerted the other customers who shielded their ears. A waiter reached the table and confronted the trio, not too happy with the outburst.

"Ma'am, we don't tolerate any sort of loud screaming," he scolded. Jessie glanced to the scorning waiter, unable to backtrack her outburst.

"Really?! I'd like to see your reaction of having some Pokémon/human hybrid in your stomach!"

"You know, men don't become pregnant… and I doubt any reasonable 'man' would handle your behavior." Jessie noticed the waiter's growing anger and sat back down quietly. "I'll be getting your bill. That's when you'll leave… immediately." The Rocket boys mumbled at Jessie for getting kicked out of the restaurant.

"You'd think after being in a coma, she'd change," James moaned.

"If Jessie didn't change, I doubt da twerp would, too," Meowth whispered. At a corner, Ash slowed down and glanced to the businesses, making sure this was where he'd see Aria.

"This seems to be the place..." he guessed. Before he could begin the "Waiting Game..."

"Hey!" shouted Aria. Ash turned to the voice. Aria walked to Ash, wearing a blue blouse over a white garment, frilly blue skirt and white Mary-Jane stilettos. "I made it! Got everything set for tonight!"

"Great!" Viewing Ash, Aria chuckled to his dolling.

"I bet those girls dressed you up like this!" She combed her fingers, loosening his hair to his normal look, ruining the gelled style. "There we go! Besides, it's better to look natural." Ash giggled, agreeing to the queen's decision.

"For sure. It's actually refreshing not to wear a hat once in a while and let nature be your hairdresser." Aria led Ash, ironically, to the same restaurant Team Rocket ate at. In fact, they headed out while the queen and knight entered, and the trio did a double-take.

"Wait, that's the twerp!" shrieked Jessie. "And what's he doing with the queen?!" James cupped his chin, thinking he saw something from before.

"Perhaps that's what the queen whispered a few days ago," he pondered. Jessie looked uninformed with a reason.

"I've been out for over a week, could you tell me what was whispered?"

"Dat's right!" snapped Meowth. "You didn't come out of your coma until after da knighting ceremony!" James wanted to add to the Alley Cat Pokémon's point.

"The twerp was honored for stopping the Malamar and rescuing the queen and those other twerpettes after they left you for dead," he notified. "He nearly died after the hideout fell on him." Jessie revealed a deadpan look.

"Really?" she grumbled. "If he died, it would be easier for us to get Pikachu."

"Yeah, but it just wouldn't feel right." Inside, Ash pulled a chair for Aria as other customers gawked at the two.

"Isn't that Sir Ash?" one young man asked.

"What's he doing with Queen Aria?" a young woman questioned.

"I knew something stirred between the two during the knighting ceremony," a girl realized.

"I don't know who's luckier, the young knight or the young queen?" another young man asked.

"He's with a queen!" another girl voiced. "Why can't I be his princess?" Chatter abuzz regarding Ash and Aria made the two rather uncomfortable.

"We're becoming a trend," Aria noticed.

"Yeah, after what happened a few days ago..." Ash recalled. After they received their meals, Aria noticed Ash's table manners like the lack of slurping and patting the napkin over smearing it.

"Did Serena teach you behaviors on a date like tonight's?"

"Well, plenty of tidbits. Diantha as well when she heard you through the cheers." Aria laughed.

"Okay, but about you… Now, you've gone through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and the Orange Islands before coming here."

"My goal is to be the Pokémon Master. To do so, Pikachu and I journey anywhere where there's new Pokémon to discover and trainers we can challenge ourselves."

"I see. Well, you've been quite the competitor. Did you win any of the Leagues?"

"No. The closest I've been in the Top Four at the Lily of the Valley Conference in Sinnoh."

"I have a feeling you'll be very close to the top, especially with that Mega Greninja. By the way, how did you make your Greninja Mega Evolve? You don't have a Key Stone or a Mega Stone."

"Heck, I don't know if it's really Mega Evolving to begin with. However, from what Clemont described it as, Greninja's and my hearts and minds synchronize that helps unlock Greninja's potential." Aria awed the information, starting to understand more of the hero she knighted.

"Synchronize, like bonding to your Pokémon."

"Pretty much. Though, it does come with the risk as Serena explained after I freed everyone." After they ate and Ash paid the bill, they proceeded to the theater which they viewed a movie. Buzz about the pair continued, including some of the girls' envy to Aria dating Ash, or "Sir Ash" due to the knighting. The movie had enough action to keep Ash at the edge of his seat. One scene included a familiar actor with a Hitmonlee, a Scrafty and a Smoochum against a mob boss and a pack of Chestnaughts.

"You know what I'm here for, Bruno!" the actor in the shades demanded.

"Big talk for someone you've been hired for vengeance, Ultra Maximum!" the fat boss taunted. Ash realized the actor.

"Who knew Diantha casted Brad Van Darn in one of her recent films?" he identified. Aria awed the name mentioned.

"You're kidding!" she gasped while whispering. "You and Brad Van Darn are friends? That is awesome!" Later on in the movie, Brad's character, Ultra Maximum. Has his injuries treated by Diantha.

"I'm closing in on whoever it was that took your father's life," Brad detailed.

"I know that," Diantha hushed. "Still, I can't have you risking yours just to make my life better." While they continued to talk with Diantha inching towards Brad brought on by gazing eyes, Aria gripped Ash's hand and lowered her head to his shoulder. Ash felt the head and turned his eyes to her. He didn't want to disrespect the queen, so he smiled and continued to view, awing the actors. After the movie, jubilant Ash and Aria came out of the theater.

"The chemistry between Brad and Diantha surprised me," Aria praised. "Still there were parts I enjoyed..."

"Right, there are people who want to watch it," Ash honored, not willing to spoil the movie. They soon came to a store where they found plenty of items for Ash's friends and Pokémon. With Ash making the purchases, the dating pair walked back to the Pokémon Center but before going in, Aria wanted to thank Ash for the night out.

"That was a great time tonight. Not only to learn of the new Kalos Knight but what kind of trainer you are."

"Hey, I learned plenty myself. After all, this was my first date."

"Well, it makes sense. I could say it myself, but only on the scale of someone younger than me." Both chuckled to the strange truth. "Besides, there's only one way this date can end." Ash blinked. Since this was his first date, let alone with the Kalos Queen, he didn't know what to expect.

"And what's that?" Instead of telling Ash, Aria knelt slightly and kissed him on the lips, holding it for a solid 35 seconds. He felt Aria's tongue lick around his own as the two closed their eyes and embrace the connection. Aria wrapped her arms gently around Ash's chest, below the underarms. Finally, they separated, smiles on their faces.

"I'll see you at the Kalos League! Bye!" With a wink, she left Ash stunned to the last piece. He quickly recovered, a gleeful smile on his face.

"I can only imagine what Iris' face would look like seeing me with the queen. Also, Sir Ash… I actually like it!" He entered the Pokémon Center with the purchases from the shopping. First one to notice his return was Pikachu's squeaks. Entering, he saw his friends still awake, perhaps nervous about Ash in lieu with Aria. "Hey, guys!" Pikachu joined Ash first by hopping on his shoulder.

"How's Sir Ash tonight?" teased Clemont. Ash chuckled to the title.

"Where do I begin?" he asked. "Got to know each other more, saw a movie with Diantha and an actor I knew back in Johto… and picked up some gifts that we knew you'll all like." The Pokémon could only wonder what Ash got for them.

"You two got us something as well?" questioned Serena. Ash turned to the elder blond, a sneer on his face.

"Serena, Aria got you this..." Ash handed Serena a silver locket in the shape of a crown. Inside, two pictures, both with Serena. One on the left was her with Ash at Geosenge Town while the other had her with Aria a few days after Clemont departed for the Prism Tower in preparation for Ash's gym battle.

"It's wonderful!" She wished she could give Aria a praise.

"Clemont, Aria got you this..." Ash gave Clemont a pair of sun shade clip-ons for his glasses in the same shape as what he had on his face.

"Brilliant!" he laughed. "That way, I won't go blind when I work on some real welding on my Clemontic inventions!" Now Ash viewed the youngest of the troupe.

"Aria got you, Dedenne and Squishy a little something..." Ash offered Bonnie a new carry bag, slightly larger than the one she had. Bonnie's and Dedenne's eyes were about to vacate heads.

"Aw, I love it!" she cheered. Dedenne as well before looking inside. Squishy didn't seem interested. What Dedenne found inside made it jump for joy: sweet, fruit-flavored Pokémon food. Pikachu came over to try the food with Dedenne's permission. The Antennae Pokémon gave a morsel to its Electric-Type brother and made Pikachu pucker up from one bite.

"Save some room for this, Pikachu!" Hearing his master, Pikachu turned to red Pokémon food. The Electric Mouse Pokémon looked skeptical before taking a nibble. That's when it jumped high in delight.

"What flavor is that?"

"Ketchup flavor!" Everyone laughed, even Pikachu. "Okay, now comes mine… and Clemont, I thought you might need a new set." Ash lent Clemont a new miniature toolbox set.

"Wow, thanks, Ash!" he praised. "This could definitely help down the road!" Satisfied, Ash focused back on Bonnie who saw Squishy begin to feel cozy inside.

"Squishy likes it!" she snickered.

"Hey, Bonnie..." Hearing her name. Bonnie turned to see a Smoochum onesie in her size.

"Smoochum! That's one I didn't have yet! Thank you, Ash!" She pounced on Ash, knocking him to the ground. Serena and Clemont watched in fear of re-injuring his body.

"Bonnie!" Rather than stop, the sister planted kisses all over his face. "Stop! That tickles! Enough!" In relief, Serena and Clemont giggled as Ash flailed from the barrage.

"Bonnie, don't I get a present from Ash?" requested Serena. Bonnie stopped and turned to Serena, her gift not tendered to.

"Okay, Serena," she relented. "I'm gonna put this on." Bonnie kissed him once more on the nose, tickling Serena. Ash sat up, somewhat disoriented from the machine gun of kisses.

"She… really needs to lay off the sugar," he groaned. He returned to the bag and found the last item in the bag. "Here we go! Serena… this is for you!" It was a jewelry box. To Serena, whatever Ash had for her was inside. She opened the box, and inside were bow-tie earrings… but the bow-ties held a striking resemblance.

"Sylveon's bow-tie!" she squealed. Sylveon gasped to the name of the item. "They're beautiful!" Sylveon pawed Serena, who knew what it wanted. "Look, Sylveon! Don't they look like the bow-tie on your ear?" Sylveon saw and barked happily to the earrings. Standing, she faced Ash to thank him. It started with a hug. "Thank you, Ash… but honestly… having you back to normal..." Ash scoffed, his words recalled for her to say.

"Kinda speaks for itself, doesn't it?"

"No… This does!" Serena sealed her lips on his, freaking Clemont as he witnessed. The Pokémon awed, loving the scene. When they broke, Serena felt something on her lips. "What? Lip balm?"

"Bayleef-Scented lip balm. A little extra for myself. After all, every performer kissing me… Might have some on hand for when you or Bonnie or anyone else wants to give me face time." Serena chortled, knowing Ash had a great time with Aria.

"Anyway, before you left, you said something about not being this Brock," Clemont spoke up. "Now… do you mean Brock as in Pewter City Gym Leader Brock?"

"I did… and believe me, after what I've been through these past couple of weeks… He's gonna be extremely jealous." Serena knew why and scoffed. While Ash got ready for sleep with the rest of his friends, Professor Sycamore got a call back in his lab in Lumiose City. He answered his cell phone.

"Hello?" he responded. There was a pause. "I see… and they're not being released after the police reports." Another moment of silence. "Trust me, Alexa… Only the greatest of Pokémon Scientists are monitoring that trio in secret. If anything, they're not gonna be released until they're powerless. I'd rather not let them near another human or Pokémon." Wherever the Malamar are, they won't be in the public where it could be made a menace. Three Pokémon that won't see the light of day again. With Kalos safe, Ash can look forward to the Kalos League not as just a Pokémon Trainer. Even if he doesn't finish on top, the people in the region have already called him a champion.

* * *

FIN

(Thanks for your patience. Starting next week is "The 12 Elements of AshMas, Volume 6" to close out 2016. Come next year, I'll be starting a Pokémon crossover with the Teen Titans and a multi-crossover prologue of a story next summer. Also, with the anime starting Pokémon Sun and Moon, I may do a few in the future as well.)


End file.
